Search Results

By Medical Bill & Claim Resolution (MBCR) | Submitted On August 05, 2012 Some of the best advice applies universally to all medical bills - small and big. This includes the necessity of line items, issues like out of network costs, facility charges, and many other parts of today's complex medical billing world. But here's another kind of tip that can help a specific type of debt situation. It's one that often affects those who get a false sense of security from owing just a little bit of money to a medical office or other business. Stay On Your Toes One critical piece of advice to take to heart is to pay attention. Even the smallest amount of overdue debt can balloon into massive amounts of money when the collections process isn't fully understood, the accrual of interest is added to the original debt, or other factors. "Growing Debt" Issues So, how does your small dollar medical charge become a giant drag on your finances? It usually happens when the borrower simply decides not to pay anything and lets the bill lapse into collections. When third-party collectors receive this account, they may be able to add certain types of charges. This includes additional fees for filing the debt in a legal office, as well as other fees related to documentation of the existing debt. Any costs that involve trying to shoe-horn the borrower into a local court can also show up on your credit. Then, there is the issue of 'communications costs' related to overdue bill notices, phone calls and more that may be charged. Essentially, creditors may be allowed to "up" the original debt amounts according to how much time and effort they spend trying to reach the borrower and negotiate a solution. You may believe you only owe the original amount. Add to this the collection agency may report your tiny account to the credit bureau. This results in a negative impact to your credit rating and a lengthy dispute process to have the debt removed from your credit report. Remember this when small dollar claims for co-pays, deductibles and other expenses come in the mail, and you could be saving yourself from additional debt and heartache. When it comes to handling various types of debt, and medical accounts in particular, staying out of the loop and waiting till the last minute is almost always a poor choice. (Senate Bill 2149 - Medical Debt Responsibility Act 2012: A bill currently in review to exclude medical debt from consumer reports that has been in collection and has been fully paid or settled.) MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

By Medical Bill & Claim Resolution (MBCR) | Submitted On July 22, 2012 As you may know, the Affordable Care Act is cracking down on the way tax exempt or nonprofit hospitals can collect from their patients. One of the new rules indicates that these entities will be required to tell all of their patients about available charity and financial assistance. Reporters in the healthcare field often point out that to date, even non-profit hospitals have not always treated patients fairly by telling them what they qualify for when they show up to receive healthcare services. As a result, many American families are mired in healthcare debt. Reports of the new laws also offer some of the most common advice for you to protect yourself from unfair or excessive medical debt. Always Talk to Providers One of the critical steps to take is to always ask up front about available charity and financial assistance programs - regardless of the facility's tax exempt status. It's a great idea to ask about health care costs, and detail payment options, before you sign up for any given course of treatment. But beyond this, dialogue with the provider is also a key to keeping medical bills from showing up on credit reports. It's true that even with the best back channel dialogue, some hospital administrators will still send bills to collections, but having an open communication with the provider will prevent this in the majority of cases where reasonable financial offices simply ask you to keep in touch about your debt and pay to the best of your ability. Make Sure You Are Covered and Know the Extent of Your Coverage Essentially, the Affordable Care Act is seen as a positive-negative to a portion of consumers, but for the vast majority of citizens, who want healthcare coverage to protect themselves from debt, the new law is a good thing, and not a burden. The only downside is that those who do not have healthcare coverage must look for a policy in order to prevent penalties and additional taxes. However, others may choose to forego coverage and pay their healthcare costs out-of-pocket despite penalties. When comparing your options, be sure to also make use of the following provisions that are included in the law: a disclaimer stating that the cost of the healthcare policy must not exceed 8% of family income a rule that those 26 and under may stay on a family health insurance plan rules preventing health insurance companies from dropping patients due to pre-existing conditions state health-care exchanges that will provide access to more affordable policies Look for the above aspects and more to be implemented in your state of residence. Take advantage of these new provisions to get the healthcare coverage you need to avoid high amounts of medical debt in the future. By being proactive about your health care, health insurance status, and financial health, you could save thousands of dollars without sacrificing quality of care. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

By Medical Bill & Claim Resolution (MBCR) | Submitted On July 14, 2012 With reports about identity fraud making waves throughout the news media, it's especially important for those looking at the American health care industry to consider a specific kind of identity fraud that can be especially expensive for victims. Medical fraud is commonly defined as any kind of identity theft that facilitates the use of insurance or medical information which allows for an unauthorized individual to get access to medical insurance, medical care or other services, or that in some cases, allows for false billing or funneling money directly from the victim to the fraud perpetrator. Learning more about it can help you avoid medical bankruptcies or other problems. The Numbers on Medical Fraud Although it may be more obscure than other types of fraud, for instance, credit card fraud, some reports estimate that medical identity theft affects almost two million people in America each year, with an overall monetary impact of over $40 billion. Experts also estimate the costs of medical fraud per victim at over $20,000. That means that this kind of fraud can destroy the budgets of many American consumers or families who become victims of this type of identity theft. Common Scenarios Experts suggest that some identity thieves pursue medical fraud in order to get insurance coverage through illegitimate means, while others may be looking to get their hands on prescription drugs that they will sell on the black market. But although these kinds of situations can hit consumers or families out of nowhere, other reports suggest that in many cases of medical fraud, there's a gray area: the victims of these kinds of fraud may have let their family members misuse their medical information or otherwise been complicit in fraudulent claims or other types of identity theft. Medical fraud is just one way that the average American family can find itself bogged down in medical debt or otherwise trapped in eternal debt cycles. In order to prevent these kinds of nightmare scenarios, it's important to safeguard identity information and do regular credit checks and basic financial monitoring. You can also get help from third party medical advocates that understand the health care system and how to fight various kinds of financial challenges to make sure that you and your loved ones are not taken advantage of by a system that often generates extremely high costs. Talking to these types of agencies and organizations can help you gain a better idea of how to prevent medical fraud, unfair denials or bills, or any other financial struggle that could have been avoided through good documentation and vigilance. Get the facts and protect yourself against medical fraud and unfair medical debt for a better financial future. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

By Medical Bill & Claim Resolution (MBCR) | Submitted On June 15, 2012 AHA Updates Hospitals on New Responsibilities As the administration's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or PPACA continues to be implemented across the country, non-profit hospitals are looking at what they must do to comply with aspects of this law. The American Hospital Association is giving hospitals guidelines that will illustrate their responsibilities to patients. Many of these revolve around transparency for costs and other consumer protections that assist you to know more about the financial outcomes of your care. Financial Counseling and Patient Education One of AHA's guidelines is that hospitals should inform patients about how the facility bills for different kinds of care. This is typically called financial counseling or patient education, and it's a major part in preparing the average American family for any kind of medical treatment that they seek. The non-profit provider, which is often the most prominent and largest provider in a local community, can be considered a kind of public service, regardless of the fact that many non-profits adopt many 'for-profit' types of administrative strategies and policies. The bottom line is that non-profits (and actually providers) have a responsibility to be up front with patients from what they will pay for a contracted doctor, nurse or other medical service provider, to extras like anesthesia, medical supplies or medical equipment. Financial Assistance Policies Another aspect of the Affordable Care Act that is in place to protect you is a mandate for non-profit hospitals to provide financial assistance to patients and have policies posted in a visible manner. This involves looking at the income and assets of a given patient and how that person can benefit from any available charitable funding or other source of assistance. Generally, financial assistance is supposed to be provided by the hospital within its overall billing structure, as a way to anticipate a patient's less likely ability to pay. Clearer Medical Collections Another aspect of these changes relates to what happens when a bill does get sent to collections. Some of the other guidelines provided to non-profit hospitals have to do with establishing a consistent policy for late payments and non-payment of medical bills. This will ensure that patients know they are being treated fairly in terms of medical collections, at least, in relation to the common policy. These straightforward consumer protections are good news for the average American family that struggles with high hospital bills whenever someone becomes ill or needs significant care. Stay informed about how federal, state, and local government groups are slowly working towards comprehensive health care reform, resulting in greater protection for you. MBCR understands the challenges in receiving a medical bill and successfully resolving a health insurance claim issue. Learn more at www.medicalbillandclaimresolution.com.

We’ve made it quick and convenient for you to manage your blog from anywhere. In this blog post we’ll share the ways you can post to your Wix Blog. Blogging from Your Wix Blog Dashboard On the dashboard, you have everything you need to manage your blog in one place. You can create new posts, set categories and more. To head to your Dashboard, open the Wix Editor and click on Blog > Posts. Blogging from Your Published Site Did you know that you can blog right from your published website? After you publish your site, go to your website’s URL and login with your Wix account. There you can write and edit posts, manage comments, pin posts and more! Just click on the 3 dot icon ( ⠇) to see all the things you can do. #bloggingtips #WixBlog

With Wix Blog, you’re not only sharing your voice with the world, you can also grow an active online community. That’s why the Wix blog comes with a built-in members area - so that readers can easily sign easily up to become members of your blog. What can members do? Members can follow each other, write and reply to comments and receive blog notifications. Each member gets their own personal profile page that they can customize. Tip: You can make any member of your blog a writer so they can write posts for your blog. Adding multiple writers is a great way to grow your content and keep it fresh and diversified. Here’s how to do it: Head to your Member’s Page Search for the member you want to make a writer Click on the member’s profile Click the 3 dot icon ( ⠇) on the Follow button Select Set as Writer

When it comes to design, the Wix blog has everything you need to create beautiful posts that will grab your reader's attention. Check out our essential design features. Choose from 8 stunning layouts Your Wix Blog comes with 8 beautiful layouts. From your blog's settings, choose the layout that’s right for you. For example, a tiled layout is popular for helping visitors discover more posts that interest them. Or, choose a classic single column layout that lets readers scroll down and see your post topics one by one. Every layout comes with the latest social features built in. Readers can easily share posts on social networks like Facebook and Twitter and view how many people have liked a post, made comments and more. Add media to your posts When creating your posts you can: Upload images or GIFs Embed videos and music Create galleries to showcase a media collection Customize the look of your media by making it widescreen or small and easily align media inside your posts. Hashtag your posts Love to #hashtag? Good news! You can add tags (#vacation #dream #summer) throughout your posts to reach more people. Why hashtag? People can use your hashtags to search through content on your blog and find the content that matters to them. So go ahead and #hashtag away!